The Manbang Group, the Chinese truck-hailing company often referred to as the “Uber of trucks” in China, announced yesterday, April 24, that it had raised $1.9 billion in funding in a round led by the SoftBank Vision Fund and the China Reform Fund, a private equity firm backed by China Reform Holdings Corporation Ltd and other central state-owned enterprises. Manbang, formally called the Full Truck Alliance Group, was formed last November by the merger of two rival Chinese trucking firms – Yunmanman and Huochebang – and connects shippers with truck drivers, while also providing an after-service platform which covers truck fuel, auto insurance, auto financing, and other services. This is Manbang’s first fundraising round.

Manbang covers the vast majority of China’s sprawling goods transport and haulage industry, with 5.2 million of the 7 million trucks driving on China’s major roadways and 1.2 million of the country’s 1.5 million logistics firms using the platform. In a statement, Manbang said that it would use the money raised from the round to expand research and development into new energy and autonomous driving solutions, as well expansion into markets beyond China. Wang Gang, President of Manbang, said the firm aims to use about $1.27 billion of the funding amount to hire new talent, including the possibility of acquiring other companies to attract top talent.